On the First Day of Christmas, my sister gave to me...

...a gi-normous bar of Ca-had-bur-ry...

No, seriously, look:
It's as big as my tea cosy!!!

"Everything was beautiful at the ballet"* (except, not really)

Something that tends to surprise people (because, in general, I am really into the arts) is that I hate the ballet. (Disclaimer: I took ballet lessons for one year. My dad let me quit. Thanks, Dad!) I feel like the dance moves and the music just don't go together, which is counter intuitive to me. Of course, this would make sense as it is my understanding that, for many classical ballets, the music and the choreography were composed independent of each other (again, counter intuitive). Personally, I like it a lot better when the two work in tandem, like in a Broadway musical. (I love Broadway musicals.)

I especially dislike The Nutcracker. Now before I start being accused of imitating Ebenezer Scrooge, I would like to relate some background on this: I saw my first performance of The Nutcracker when I was about 7 years old. I spent a lot of the performance asking the Aunties (who took me, bless their hearts) when the Sugar Plum Fairy was going to turn up. (I distinctly remember this.) Apparently, the dance of the Sugar Plum Fairy wasn't all that impressive to me because I was still asking about it at the end of the show. (I think it was one of those productions where Clara does the dance so there wasn't a separate Sugar Plum Fairy.) In the immortal words of Kevin Kline, in his Academy Award© winning role in A Fish Called Wanda, "Disappointed!!!!" I really have never seen a production of The Nutcracker that I feel does justice to Tchaikovsky's brilliant composition. (Disclaimer: This has not stopped me from dancing around my house to the music when the mood strikes me. This is referred to as "Interpretive Nutcracker" and is not remotely the same as ballet. In case you were wondering.)

The version of the record I had. (Thanks, Ebay!)

As a child, I had a long playing record of the Story of the Nutcracker that combined Tchaikovsky's music with Claire Bloom's narration of a simpler version of ETA Hoffman's original tale. This story was delightful, with elements of mystery, creativity, terror, heroism, and wonder. Now this was a dark story for a cold winter's night (or at least a dark-er story), and I played that record over and over again, so much so that I can almost hear Ms. Bloom's voice over parts in the music when I listen to recordings of the musical score now. (I actually listened to this album at my parents' house last Christmas because they still have a turntable. [Mine died several years ago. The fabulous JR is looking after my record collection until I replace it.])

(Image also from Ebay)

My mother also had given me a beautiful, hardcover book of The Nutcracker, illustrated by Maurice Sendak (of Where the Wild Things are fame.) This version of the story came about after the Pacific Northwest Ballet asked Sendak to design the scenery and costumes for their "untraditional" version of the ballet one Christmas. The ballet was much closer to the spirit of the original tale, and Sendak's designs, augmented by additional drawings, have become the imaginative illustrations of this book, while a fresh translation of Hoffman's The Nutcracker and the Mouse King brings an edge that I have never seen in a performance of this story (or in "Interpretive Nutcracker", for that matter.)  I love it to bits, and I get it out every Christmas season to reread while listening to a recording of the ballet music. (It's the London Symphony Orchestra recording, if that matters to you.)

A number of years ago, the Boston Symphony Orchestra did a concert of the complete Nutcracker. I persuaded JeGlide (a sometime co-performer of "Interpretive Nutcracker") to join me at Symphony Hall for the concert. I was so excited; I was practically jumping out of my seat. Not having the dancers in front of me while hearing the familiar music performed by a full symphony orchestra (and conducted by Seiji Ozawa) was such a treat and left such a fresh impression of the music that I really started to appreciate The Nutcracker all over again.

I think that it was because I enjoyed that concert so much that I actually agreed to go to the ballet again when my friend RJ invited me to join her at a performance of Prokofiev's Romeo & Juliet. We ended up leaving at intermission, and we may or may not have left because we were laughing and falling sleep intermittently. (Fortunately, the tickets were free, passed on from a colleague who had season's tickets and couldn't make that night's performance.) So the ballet still isn't for me, but I do love The Nutcracker, just not the ballet of The Nutcracker. Isn't it nice to know that there are plenty of ways you can still enjoy it without all the dancing?



* Lyrics from "At the Ballet" from A Chorus Line, a Broadway musical and therefore acceptable to me

Have a Happy Hipster Christmas

CB2 is Crate & Barrel's modern furniture and decor line for the hip, urban, apartment-living kind of person I never really was even when I was urban and apartment-living. (I am much more an eclectic traditionalist.) I think that I ended up on their mailing list by accident. (I do love regular Crate & Barrel.)
Flipping casually through the latest CB2 catalog the other day (it usually goes straight into recycling,) I had to pause and laugh when I saw these guys. These are supposedly "Modern Worker" Christmas ornaments. To me, they are people from my old neighborhood in Allston. The only character missing is the band member with his guitar case.

Miranda Hart

If you watched "Call the Midwife" on PBS on Sunday nights, I would bet that you have fallen in love with Camilla Fortescue-Cholmondeley-Browne, known to her friends/fellow midwives as "Chummy" and played by the wonderful Miranda Hart. Chummy comes from an upper class background, but couldn't be more "of the people" if she tried. She is warm-hearted and generous and socially awkward and thoughtful and clumsy and is my absolutely favorite character on the show. I loved her since she first fell off the bicycle. (Okay, that isn't true. I loved her from when she protected her first patient from the doctor's insensitivity.)  She is the reason that I stuck with the show; I was ready to give up after the first episode, but I said I would watch one more and that's when her character was introduced.

So because I became such a fan of Chummy,  I went on a hunt to find "Miranda", Miranda Hart's eponymous Brit sit com. Luckily, I found it on my local PBS station. It is HILARIOUS!!  It is on after 11pm on Friday nights here so I DVR it and watch it first thing on Saturday. It is my new Saturday morning cartoon. I have literally laughed out loud at the show at least three times every episode. It is a bit "Bridget Jones"-esque with the single girl and the pushy mother and the kooky friends and the unattainable hot guy and the embarrassing situations, but the tone is so much more upbeat than "Bridget Jones".  Plus, "Miranda" has this uncanny ability to bounce back from all of the embarrassing situations. (Granted, it is television, but, boy! don't I wish I could be more like that?!?) Normally, I don't like shows that put the main character in embarrassing situations (Meet the Parents was a nightmare for me; I wanted to crawl under my chair and die!), but I haven't had to fast forward through "Miranda" at all. (Okay, well, honestly, I did fast forward during one of the first episodes I watched. Then I rewound and watched the bit I thought would be too painful to watch, and it was fine. In fact, it was hilarious. Lesson learned.)

Anyhow, the show isn't out on DVD in the US, so you can't get it from Netflix or the library, and it isn't worth buying on DVD unless you have a regionless DVD player, which I don't, although I can watch Region 2 DVDs on my laptop, but I digress... So you have to hunt it down on PBS (or the interwebs, but you didn't hear that from me) because it doesn't seem to be on BBC America either. (But "Star Trek the Next Generation" is... that's a topic for another time.) Hopefully, the BBC will try to capitalize on the success of "Call the Midwife", and  "Miranda" will end up on DVD here soon. Until then, I will not be purging my DVR, and you can watch clips on the BBC One website. A new series of "Miranda" is set to broadcast soon; I can't wait until they show it here!! As Miranda's mother Penny would say, "Such fun!"



[And for all of you playing "Name That Brit" at home: I knew that I had seen Gary (the unattainable hot guy) before: he was Tom the doctor on "Doctor Who" that Martha was going to marry until she decided to marry Mickey instead. ]

Happy Thanksgiving!

This year I have so many things for which I am thankful. Just within this last year, I am grateful for selling my condo rather quickly, having all my stuff moved by a fantastic moving company, taking some much needed time off, starting a new job, and buying my house - and my continual blessings: my family (especially the newest addition) and my friends (who have stuck by me through all this moving around).  For all the whinging I do, things are actually really good. And I am thankful.

The Start of the Christmas Season is Closer than You'd Think

Image from Ebay

Because I am currently concerned about where all my British Christmas stuff is going to be purchased this holiday season now that I am no longer living in Boston, I thought I would share last night's discovery here on on the blog.

I was at BJ's picking up some household items and while walking through the Christmas section, I noticed that they had Tom Smith luxury and juvenile Christmas crackers! There were some stunning silver and black full size ones (similar to the ones in the photo), but I restrained myself as I went overboard last Christmas at TJ Maxx and bought enough crackers last year for more than twice the number of people I was going to see on the big day. A box of eight was selling for $9.99 which is a steal great bargain, in my opinion.

So you if you are in the market for Christmas crackers, you might want to check out your local BJ's wholesaler! (For anyone reading in the central Connecticut region, this was the BJ's in Southington on Queen St.)  Also, if you know of any place where I can find a Christmas pudding and some brandy butter in the area, I would love it if you told me in the comments! It isn't practical for me to drive to Cardullo's in Harvard Square just for that... or is it? ;-)

""The moon was a ghostly galleon, tossed upon cloudy seas."*

Happy Halloween, readers! Last night, I carved my first Jack o'lantern in a very long time. I had forgotten how messy scooping out the inside of the pumpkin could be. I made a small wreck in my kitchen (fortunately, I'd put down newspaper before I started), and I accidentally cut my hand, which still hurts, but over all I am pleased with the result.  I think it kind of looks like the one Charlie Brown modeled for in "It's the Great Pumpkin, Charlie Brown." (I like my pumpkins to be spooky rather than artistic. I think this one is pretty good in the spooky department.)  

The moon last night was simply amazing, straight out of Alfred Noyes' poem. It was bright and full, and the wind kept blowing the clouds across it, giving it an affect that usually only is found in the movies.  I could have kept watching it from my porch all night. It sends wonderful shivers up the spine.

Really excited to get my first trick or treaters at my very own house for the first time. I hope that I have enough candy for them!!

 
*The Highwayman by Alfred Noyes